Hemmings Find of the Day – 1956 Volkswagen Beetle

Man, I thought some of my projects took forever. The restification on this 1956 Volkswagen Beetle for sale on Hemmings.com has been ongoing since the mid-1960s. The seller claims it’s because the guy who started it was meticulous about his work, and from the photos, we’d have to concur. So would you go ahead with the plan to fit a Porsche engine, or return it to absolutely stock configuration? From the seller’s description:

all set up for Porsche 356 power – Hard work is mostly done but some assembly required. This multi-year restoration was so extremely detailed, the guy got too old before he completed it. The hard and expensive stuff is done! There are lots of special extras: note the eight day clock with bullet-light over ashtray, Porsche 356 brakes, Koni shocks, 0-90 mph speedometer and many others. The dash is all set up for Moto-meter rally pac or the radio grill that’s included.

Bought in 1964 with 44,000 miles, this car was put away and over the years (mostly OEM) parts were accumulated and restoration was undertaken with the utmost attention to detail. The pan had no rust and in fact had great original paint in all areas except under the battery and that un-rusted area was repainted. The body and pan were never detached since they didn’t need to be. NOS 1956 fenders bought in the 1960’s were installed rather than taking out some small dents.

The brakes are from a 1955 Porsche 356 with new wheel cylinders, shoes and are all rebuilt. In fact, most parts on this car that were not in perfect working order were replaced with N.O.S. parts, or aftermarket parts (generally if out of sight). The car has been ever-so carefully modified in a non-destructive manner to accept a Porsche 356 engine (not included but $5000 extra, installed), and comes with a rebuilt 1967 VW transmission installed. The original leatherette upholstery is decent shape and ready to be cleaned and re-installed (or get new if you want). All parts related to this car that are shown in the photos are included in the sale.

Howard Arbituresays:

April 28, 2013 10:45 am

Personally, I’d leave it in it’s stock, original form. Older Bugs like this are so hard to find. Have a friend who had a 58 Bug in the 70’s very similar to this. It had no gas gauge, just a small lever on the floor next to the gas pedal. I remember him trying to flip that lever going down the highway, would slow way down until the reserve would find it’s way to the carb. Also, blew the motor many times, we had the engine removal down to a science. Jack up the rear, support the motor, take off the 4 bolts on the trans., throttle cable, choke cable, 2 or 3 wires, and bam, down she’d go. Was always no. 3 exhaust valve let go, because oil cooler was located over no. 3 cyl. We’d go to a salvage yard, get a used head, and piston, there was always a pile pf them, put it together, and be cruising around that same day!

Cord Pilotsays:

April 28, 2013 11:17 am

MBrookssays:

April 28, 2013 11:39 am

If it’s all set up to accept a Porsche engine, I’d have to say I’d be sort of eager to finish it like that. That would be kind of amazing to have a nice bug with some real performance; a bug that could be used in modern traffic, but would still preserve most of its very nice appearance. And anyway, that kind of swap is still all in the family. It’s not as if they are hanging a Corvair six off the back or wedging a small block Chevy in the back seat area.

Kevin Prestonsays:

April 28, 2013 1:09 pm

I knew a guy years back that was so meticulous in the restoration of his original Mini, that he literally had a nervous breakdown. The guy would panic if he could not find a factory replacement screw for something way under the dash. He agonized every step of the way, is it good enough, could it be better. Was this authentic, or was it like some other guy in the club said it should be. Should he rip out the interior he just put in because he just found another vendor where the grain of the material was just a little closer to stock?

1/2 way through he had a breakdown and never finished the car, this after 3 years.

Alexsays:

April 29, 2013 5:31 am

Ha. Kevin, this sounds like me, i am a ridiculously avid Classic car fan! i have spent about 5 years maintaining my 1959 VW Beetle, the more time you spend on a classic the more time you want to spend on it, you may say they are just cars but that is what interest me more than anything in life. I have no kids, maybe if i did then things would be different but for me, my classic VW is my only child. I even went to lengths of spending silly money to ordering a replaceable set of official door panels (from another VW) and radio block.

Johnny_Fontanesays:

April 28, 2013 4:17 pm

jimsays:

April 28, 2013 6:27 pm

this car reminds of the vw we had that was titled as 1960 with no gas gauge, just the lever on the wall right and up a little from gas pedal . 4 drivers, only one of whom would record the miles when they filled the tank. not that it would really have helped because while the speedo would tell how slow you were going it only recorded miles sometimes. 2 of the drivers could do the flip the lever with the foot while still keeping the engine running, the other 2 would let the engine die, then flip the lever and try to restart, draining the battery down. why? because they both used full manual chock hot or cold. i was going to switch gas tanks with one that had a sending unit but it was not an easy swap-out ( i can’t remember why, maybe someone who is still into early bugs can remind me. car died and got replaced, but that is another story

Dansays:

April 28, 2013 6:47 pm

Since a Volkswagen’s body can be pulled off the pan–wherein the VIN lies–you could have two pans: one kept stock, and the other hot-rodded. But, as this might not be the most practical solution, I’d go the stock route. I’d probably add a few period accessories, but whitewalls would not be among them.